Mind Games
by Ilovetoread09
Summary: Jane has a sit down with a therapist after the events at Blackmoor.


AN: Curse of Blackmoor Manor is hands down my favorite game in the series. However, the situation to me was pretty messed up. Anyway, here's my take on the aftermath, sort of.

Disclaimer: Herinteractive owns the Nancy Drew series.

* * *

The woman, who is donned in professional attire, stares at the twelve year old girl, who currently sits with her arms crossed and lips in a pout.

"Jane, I promise you that this session will be a lot more worthwhile if you talk," the woman says, one of her slender fingers preventing her glasses from sliding down her petite nose.

"I don't see why I have to be here," the young girl whines, slouching further into the leather couch. "I said I was sorry and I meant it!"

The therapist sighs. "I'm sure you did, Jane. But you have to realize that your actions cause your father and both your mother and step-mother to be concerned about you."

"Why?" Jane asks, seeming as if just apologizing for the whole debacle should cover it.

And there's the crux of the problem, Dr. Christina Green thinks.

"Think about what exactly it is you did to Linda," the psychiatrist begins. "How you went about scaring her."

"I know what I did!" the girl snaps. "I replaced her lotion with hair growth serum, gave her my great aunt's sleeping pills, made her think reading that message cursed her. Why are we rehashing all this?"

"Well, how do you view those things? What do you consider them?"

Jane shrugs. "Just pranks, really. Like, I said, I just wanted to scare Linda away."

Dr. Green purses her lips. "Jane, you put sleeping pills in her food. Do you know how dangerous that is?"

Jane gazes down at her hands. "I-I was careful with them. Really, I was."

"What if you accidentally gave her too much? How would you have handled that?"

The young girl's quiet for a moment. "I don't know."

The therapist scribbles down the words _overconfident in expected outcomes_.

"Jane, do you understand the dangerous potential your little 'pranks' possessed?"

"I did all the research. I knew what I was doing."

"What made you do it in the first place?"

"I just wanted my father and mummy to get back together." Jane looks at the bookcase on her right. "I thought that if I ran Linda out, mummy and daddy would have a chance." Jane glances down at her fingers, tapping them against her knees. "Also, Ethel told me that Linda didn't belong."

The tutor? Hmmm.

"Who is Ethel?" Dr. Green prods, wanting more out of the girl.

The youngest Penvellyn perks up. "She's my tutor. She teaches me all the boring stuff like history and maths. However, she's allowed to tell me all of the family secrets she's privy to, with some exceptions."

"What kind of secrets?"

"Just family lineage, stuff that's hiding in the manor. Cool things like that." Jane cocks her head. "She's supposed to educate Dad on more of the Penvellyn history."

The psychiatrist purses her lips. "Jane, what do you think of Ethel?"

"She's one of the coolest people I know! She totally understands me and encourages me in my hobbies."

This should be interesting. "Like what?"

"Ooh, just monsters, witches, supernatural stuff. How could I not be interested in the paranormal? Our family is full of stories like those." The girl beams, seeming pleased with herself.

Witches, ghost, monsters? In the family?

Oh.

Oh dear.

"How long has Ethel been your tutor?"

"For several years now. Anyway, I also consider her a friend. I don't really have a lot of those, since I spend so much time in the manor." Jane scowls, obviously displeased at her isolation.

"I see." Green makes a note to discuss Ethel with Hugh. "Have you tried to make friends your age?"

"Yeah, online mostly, though. I'm not allowed out of the manor much. I swear sometimes I get so bored I could read the whole library."

The psychiatrist chuckles. "Well, that might not be such a bad thing."

"There's only Law books left, and I have no idea how to read old English."

_Bright, but perhaps needs encouragement._

"So, what do you do for fun?"

"Play games, read books or magazines, try to come up with game designs, and make cakes for Lulu."

"Who's Lulu? A maid?"

Jane laughs. "No, Lulu's our parrot." Of course it's a parrot. "I make her cakes to pass the time. Sometimes I talk to it in Latin to have a conversation with somebody, even if it's an animal." A genuine smile spreads across Jane's face. "It was so fun when Nancy was there. She could play with me."

Well, that was easier to bring up than expected.

"And besides that, how do you feel about Nancy Drew?"

Jane shrugs. "Honestly? I'm not as angry with as I'd thought I'd be. She was only trying to help, I know that and she saved me from suffocating in that box." The psychiatrist resists the urge to press on that point. "But I think I'm more sad because she had to leave and I had no one to play with." Jane's tone is so matter of fact that the psychiatrist almost misses the loneliness in the girl's eyes.

Dr. Green is quiet for a moment, scribbling more notes down on her pad. "Our time is almost over. I just want to ask you a few more questions."

"Go ahead," Jane grumbles in a bored tone.

_Bored easily_. _Perhaps too easily._

"Do you understand what you did to Linda was wrong?"

"Yes, of course!"

Well, she appears sincere.

"If an issue were to come up between your father and Linda, how would you approach it?"

The girl's shoulders lift in uncertainty. "Dunno really. I guess try to go through it as best as possible."

The woman reminds herself that the girl is only twelve and that's probably the best answer she could provide.

"Okay, one more question." Dr. Green chooses her words carefully, making sure Jane understands what's being asked. "You seem to spend a lot of alone time in the manor. Have you ever had imaginary friends, or just pretended to be somewhere else?"

Jane furrows her eyebrows. "I mean, I think I had imaginary friends when I was little, but I grew out of it. And yeah, sometimes I pretend I'm somewhere else, usually during lessons."

"Anything beyond that? Like your imagination goes a little too far?"

"No, not really."

The doctor smiles. "Okay then. With that, our time is up. It was pleasure meeting you, Jane."

"You too, Dr. Green. Toodles!"

The girl walks out, a bounce in her step.

After a few moments of reflection, Dr. Green goes through her notes, the profile of the girl slowly forming in the psychiatrist's mind.

Lonely, obviously. The girl cooped up in that manor and only twelve? No wonder Jane finds herself bored and lonely. The other issue is the tutor, Ethel. Dr. Green knows little about the teacher besides what Hugh and Jane have told her. However, given that the woman's privy to family secrets, Ethel's position in the house goes way beyond the normal circumstances for a tutor. Though, it appears the Pennvelyn family isn't exactly normal anyway. However, it's clear that the tutor may be putting unhealthy thoughts into Jane's head, ones that would impact the family dynamic. Yes, she definitely needs to discuss the woman with Hugh and Linda.

Returning to Jane, the doctor can't think of anything else that stands out from their discussion. Just a typical pre teen girl who is stuck in abnormal circumstances. Dr. Green notes to herself to discuss building friendships for Jane outside of the manor with the newly wed couple.

Moreover, she finds no reason to dispel the notions of the supernatural out of the girl's head just yet. She's still young and will most likely grow out of it. However, she'll still track the family's progress until the psychiatrist believes everything is settled. Also, she'll get more out of Hugh and Linda, since they are the adults in the situation.

Rising from her chair, Dr. Green sighs before going to bring Hugh and Linda back into her office.

The psychiatrist had no doubt that the upcoming conversation would be more than interesting.


End file.
